Working on physical and mental functioning in program

Maria Mathews, manager of family education with the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba, will lead the Minds in Motion program being offered in Headingley beginning on Feb. 5, 2015.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/12/2014 (1516 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

People with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia can often benefit from light physical and mental exercise and socializing.

These activities are at the core of the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba’s new Minds in Motion program. The society has chosen Headingley as a rural pilot site for the program starting in February.

The society is partnering with the Macdonald-Headingley Recreation District and Headingley Seniors’ Services to offer the program that starts on Feb. 5 and runs for eight consecutive weeks at the Headingley Community Centre, 5353 Portage Ave.

“The Macdonald-Headingley Recreation District very strongly promotes the benefits of recreation and physical activity as a component of good health. We felt the Minds in Motion program could provide benefits to a segment of our population that may be getting overlooked,” said MHRD program director Karen Lough. “It addresses both physical activity and mental stimulation for the care partner and the person living with dementia, and it also promotes a chance to socialize with others who are living with the same issues.”

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Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 29/12/2014 (1516 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

People with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia can often benefit from light physical and mental exercise and socializing.

These activities are at the core of the Alzheimer Society of Manitoba’s new Minds in Motion program. The society has chosen Headingley as a rural pilot site for the program starting in February.

The society is partnering with the Macdonald-Headingley Recreation District and Headingley Seniors’ Services to offer the program that starts on Feb. 5 and runs for eight consecutive weeks at the Headingley Community Centre, 5353 Portage Ave.

"The Macdonald-Headingley Recreation District very strongly promotes the benefits of recreation and physical activity as a component of good health. We felt the Minds in Motion program could provide benefits to a segment of our population that may be getting overlooked," said MHRD program director Karen Lough. "It addresses both physical activity and mental stimulation for the care partner and the person living with dementia, and it also promotes a chance to socialize with others who are living with the same issues."

Norma Kirkby, program director with the Alzheimer Society, said the program has run successfully at two Winnipeg locations over the past few months. At each session, the person with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia and their care partner participate in modified physical exercise, which could be mainly chair exercises, for about 45 minutes, led by a fitness professional.

"You just do as much as you can," said Kirkby. "It’s a failure-free kind of environment."

The exercise is followed by a short break, offering participants the chance to socialize with others in the group, then they each select a type of mental exercise to work on. This could be completing familiar phrases, table games or reading classics like Shakespeare’s plays.Kirkby said drummers have been brought in to encourage Minds in Motion participants to try drumming.

"We always check out what people are interested in," Kirkby said.

She said it’s important that care providers have the chance to try a different mental exercise, because this gives them and the people they care for a bit of independence.

The society’s manager of family education Maria Mathews will provide information on Minds in Motion at a lunch and learn session hosted by Headingley Seniors’ Services on Tues., Jan. 20 at 12:30 p.m. in the Headingley Community Centre. The cost is $7 and those interested can call Patti Cutts at 204-889-3132 ext. 3 to register.

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